…MAYBE that’s what these guys, including Randy Lerner, owner of relegation-threatened Aston Villa, Liverpool’s John W Henry and Sunderland’s Ellis Short are beginning to think.

Daily Express Sport examines the Premier League clubs under US ownership and the problems they face.

ASTON VILLA

Owner: Randy Lerner

Money spent: No exact figure available, but Lerner bought Villa for £65million in 2006, has covered heavy losses of £54m and £38m, put an extra £25m into the club in the last figures issued, and has shares valued at £133m. His total investment is believed to be upwards of £250m.

VALUE FOR MONEY: Three Premier League top-six finishes, Europa League football, losing League Cup final, FA Cup semi-final, three successive seasons of relegation fights with Villa currently in bottom three. Aims: Initially a five-year plan to become a Champions League club. Lost humiliatingly to Bradford in the Capital One Cup. They could also be out of the FA Cup by tonight with a difficult tie at Millwall.

Problems: On a personal level Lerner has seen his fortune drop to £800m because of poor performing shares. A huge gamble on young and inexperienced players has dangerously flopped and Villa need leaders.

HOW ARE THEY PERCEIVED?

Well-respected old-school club owned by well-meaning man who is out of his depth in football knowledge. Chief executive Paul Faulkner similar, manager Paul Lambert new at this level.

CAN THEY MAKE IT WORK?

No. Lerner has not retained long-serving club secretary Steve Stride. Lerner and Faulkner need to run the club as business executives and appoint someone into what was part of Stride’s role as a football advisor. Vastly experienced Graham Taylor, who has managed the club twice and been on the board has a great affection for Villa. He was snubbed a few years ago by Lerner. It’s time to ask for help.

LIVERPOOL

Owners: Fenway Sports Group

Money spent: £300m to buy Liverpool from Hicks and Gillett in October 2010. FSG has since sanctioned in excess of £150m spending.

Value for money: The Carling Cup is small payback on their investment. Liverpool have gone through one director of football and are on their third manager, Brendan Rodgers.

Aims: John W Henry, principal owner, has repeated his belief that Liverpool will win the Premier League under FSG, who also own baseball team the Boston Red Sox. Right now, a return to the top four and Champions League football needs to be the priority. The introduction of Financial Fair Play (FFP) in England is also crucial to their blueprint.

Problems: Moving to a new stadium was promoted as the panacea to Liverpool’s ills, but other problems confronting the club are varied. Liverpool need investment in their squad. As for the issue of the ground, Liverpool announced their preferred choice would be to stay at Anfield but how they are going to pay for its development, when the timescale of the project remains unclear.

HOW ARE THEY PERCEIVED? Henry admitted mistakes have been made. Rodgers will be given time, but knows the biggest difference he can make is getting it right in the transfer market.

CAN THEY MAKE IT WORK? FSG believe FFP will lead to a more level playing field, but the fear is where Liverpool will be if, and when, the measures take hold. They have spent money, but for the supporters asking, ‘What have FSG done for Liverpool?’ there are some at FSG wondering why they became involved in the first place.

PAUL JOYCE

SUNDERLAND

Owner: Ellis Short

Money spent: Since appointing Martin O’Neill 13 months ago at the Stadium of Light there have been only two significant signings, striker Steven Fletcher and winger Adam Johnson, for a combined £22million. O’Neill’s latest January additions include Senegal defender Kader Mangane on loan and France midfielder Alfred N’Diaye on a three-and-a-half year contract from Bursaspor for £3.8m.

Value for money: Fletcher was an inspired purchase, Johnson less so, Carlos Cuellar has been consistent while James McFadden and Louis Saha have made little impact

Aims: In the few off-the-record briefings Short has stated his aim is to become a fixture in the top half of the table and well run on strict financial lines, with a manager commanding respect.

O’Neill started brilliantly and quickly pulled the club away from the relegation zone last season, but in March form collapsed. Short showed patience and Sunderland appear to be improving now in a mid-table position. His aims are long-term improvement.

Problems: Short is not going to buy his way to the top half of the league, so fans have to show patience. The majority of Sunderland supporters accept that O’Neill is a prize capture and should be allowed to develop his squad.

HOW ARE THEY PERCEIVED? Sunderland have not set the Premier League alight. They are tight and compact in defence, but creativity has been a problem all this season. Despite their lack of attacking bite, Sunderland remain Premier League material, but of concern to Short and O’Neill will be that progress has been pedestrian.

CAN THEY MAKE IT WORK?

O’Neill is the jewel in the crown with an outstanding managerial CV, Short will bankroll him, but only to a degree.

NIALL HICKMAN

ARSENAL

Owners: Stan Kroenke

Money spent: Kroenke bought an initial 9.9 per cent stake for £42.3m in April 2007 and slowly accrued small lumps of equity to reach a 29.9 per cent holding. He then spent an estimated £240m buying shares from Danny Fiszman and Lady Nina Bracewell-Smith to more than double his holding and his current 66.64 per cent stake cost an estimated £425m overall to amass.

Value for money: Alisher Usmanov, the other major shareholder in the club, insists he will not pay more than £14,000 per share, but that still equates to around £160m profit. Both Forbes and Deloittes value the company slightly higher than this figure and with Premier League rights income increasing dramatically.

Aims: Kroenke has a long history in sports ventures and owns teams in America’s NFL, NBA, Major League Soccer and ice hockey. During an appearance at Arsenal’s AGM in October, he claimed: “The reason I am involved in sport is to win. Our goal is to win trophies.”

Problems: That is the problem. Arsenal have not won a trophy for nearly eight years their longest barren run since the Sixties. Fans fear the board are too busy patting themselves on the back for running the club so well and not willing to compete with bigger rivals both domestically and in Europe.

HOW ARE THEY PERCEIVED? Kroenke’s silent presence in the background inevitably led to suspicion as Arsenal now find themselves experiencing their worst Premier League season under Wenger.

Ex-director Lady Bracewell-Smith expressed her anger at the way the club was going claiming, “Football is a business of passion,” she wrote. “SK has no passion for AFC. He shows he cares very little. Why he wanted to be a part of AFC I do not know. Disappointed would be an understatement.”

General frustration is targeted at boardroom level.

CAN THEY MAKE IT WORK? Financially, both the club and Kroenke himself – Forbes estimate his worth to be around £2.5bn – are in superb shape and with UEFA pushing through their Financial Fair Play Rules, Arsenal are hoping to capitalise. The only thing missing from one of the world’s most successful club models is the success that fans crave.

MATTHEW DUNN

BUT HERE’S ONE

WHO IS SMILING...

MANCHESTER UNITED

Owners: The Glazer family.

Money spent: The Glazers bought up chunks of shares when United were a PLC before taking the club off the Stock Market and back into private ownership in May 2005. They spent about £800m, mainly with borrowed money, something that alienated many of the fans.

Value for money: With United now valued at over £1.2bn, the Glazers will hit the jackpot if they ever decide to sell. The club is a money-making marvel, much of it thanks to the commercial department the Glazers have put in place.

Aims: No one knows because apart from one interview by Joel Glazer on the club’s own TV station after their takeover in May 2005 they have never spoken publicly. But every time a potential buyer has emerged the American family have been quick to announce they have no intention of selling.

Biggest is the fans’ anger that they saddled United with huge debt to buy the club

Problems: Biggest is the fans’ anger that they saddled United with huge debt to buy the club in the first place and millions are siphoned off every year to service the borrowings. United can afford it because they make such a huge profit, but their followers argue that money could be spent on improving the squad and reducing ticket prices. Abu Dhabi-backed neighbours City are not going to go away, and who can replace Sir Alex Ferguson?

HOW ARE THEY PERCEIVED? Still with much suspicion. The fact they are so low profile and are based in the US doesn’t help. But as long as United remain successful on the pitch, the fans cannot complain.

CAN THEY MAKE IT WORK? Yes, hardly a week goes by without United announcing yet another valuable commercial partnership. There were two in a matter of minutes on Tuesday. The forthcoming shirt-sponsorship deal with Chevrolet is eye-watering. The training ground has been revamped and a state-of-the-art new medical centre built.

On the pitch, United have had their most successful period in their history. The Glazers have sanctioned transfer money whenever Sir Alex Ferguson has wanted it. Robin van Persie, Shinji Kagawa, David De Gea, Ashley Young, Antonio Valencia, Nani, Anderson, Javier Hernandez, Phil Jones, Chris Smalling and Michael Carrick have all been signed for considerable amounts since 2006. And a world-record fee of £80m was recouped for Cristiano Ronaldo.